ACDC hosts affordable housing discussion on SCM building

Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC) hosted a community engagement meeting on March 17 at the Metropolitan community room to discuss the building of affordable housing units at 50 Herald Street, also known as the SCM building.

“Our goal for this meeting is to provide a platform to gather ideas from the community and inputs for any feasible plan to build affordable housing,” said Angie Liu, director of real estate of ACDC.

The meeting was part of an affordable housing competition in Boston, with students from Harvard University and Northeastern University participating in the competition.

“The affordable housing competition is an annual event. Each year, the students come up with hypothetical proposals for affordable housing development,” said Kye Liang, a member of the Chinatown Master Plan committee.

Students presented three possible future designs for 42, 66 or 74 units in the SCM building, which is currently occupied by C-Mart. The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association is currently the landlord of the site, and the final decision for the building will have to be approved by its board of directors.

“The consensus of the meeting is [that] everyone agrees affordable housing is what the community ultimately wants,” said CCBA President Hung Goon. He stated that he understood the value of affordable housing to the community.

“I grew up in Castle Square, so I know the positive impact that the affordable housing can bring stabilization to families in their transitional time, fostering them to build better lives,” Goon added.

The students hope that at least 40 percent of the total number of units will actually be designated for affordable housing while the remaining 60 percent will be market rate.

“The best way moving forward on any possible planning is better communication within the community and organizations,” Goon stated, adding that he was not informed about the meeting until last minute.